Beyond the Horizon
by Amanda Hazel
Summary: The story continues!Edward and Bella's happily ever after is disrupted when unexpected events leads them on a journey to save one of their own. Its the ultimate test of love, and all new adventures and dangers await our beloved Cullen family!
1. The New Begining

1. The New Beginning

The sudden low grumbling of Nessie's snores tore my eyes from the page that they were on. I closed the large leather bound book which I was reading and put it in its proper place on the bookshelf on at the far end of the room.

In less than half a second I had crossed the sitting room, gone through the long hallway that lead to Nessie's bedroom, and was standing over her in her newly bought bed. She was growing fast and her crib that she has slept in for her first four months was outside at the side of our cottage in large pieces of wood, now used for our fireplace.

While I watched her sleep I saw a smile flutter across her face as she laid dreaming. I couldn't hold back the smile that burned in me. I thought about what she was dreaming about as I brushed her hair from around her face to behind her ear. I decided that I would ask her later about what she was dreaming. I now understand Edward's obsession when he watched me sleep while I was human. It truly was fascinating.

When I left the room, I did so at a more human pace. I

walked past Edwards' and my room. Staring at the perfectly made bed. I sighed as I tried not to think about when Edward and I would use that bed again. It felt so long since we have been alone together. This thought hurt, so I left the room and went to look outside. I opened the large wooden door and stepped out into the damp cold air.

I stood very still taking in every bit of the forest. I could see and hear ten miles in each direction. I searched for any sign that would indicate Edwards return but to no prevail.

"He is bound to be back soon" I whispered to myself.

The excitement that built up inside me was almost unbearable. Every minute away from him made every part of me ache.

When Edward got back I would insist on the both of us going hunting together. I craved to have some time with him, away from our family. Something that we haven't had in a while, for Nessie insisted on one of us staying with her while the other hunted.

I suddenly realized it was raining. I could hear all the tiny drops of water hit the leaves high above in the canopy. I could hear those that that were falling through the breaks in the trees to the ferns and shrubs below, and I heard a few cars on the nearby highway leading into Forks.

The tight bubble that clung to my mind slowly lifted as I focused on pulling it away from me. I knew Edward would hear my thoughts the moment my mind was unprotected.

"I need to hunt" I said to myself over and over.

There was no doubt that he would hear me, and be on his way back. There was no denying it, my eyes have been growing darker for the past few days, the hot fire that scorched my throat grew more intense and I would need to hunt, today.

The sun was starting to rise. It presence over top of the eastern mountains made the sky turn a lighter grey indicating the early mornings presence.

I was on my way back to my family's house. I carried

Nessie very carefully as I tried not to disrupt her dream. Even though no one slept in the Cullen's house, I still tried to be quiet as I entered through the back door. Even as quiet as I was, my presence was immediately known to one of my family members who was not on the hunt.

Alice was at the bottom of the stairs to greet me. I smiled at her as I crossed the room and laid Nessie on the couch.

"They will be home in a few hours" Alice said answering my question before it escaped my lips.

"Thanks" I whispered back to Alice with a tiny half grin. She smiled back and danced into the kitchen, fully knowing that I would follow.

Rosalie was next to acknowledge my presence as she slipped through an open window. She had obviously been up in her room on the second floor.

"Rose would you mind watching Nessie for me"? I asked her.

She nodded and made her way across the kitchen and

jumped over the island and landed near the door. I walked her to the living room where she picked Nessie up without a fraction of effort, wrapping her arms around her as she hummed a song while she rocked slowly back and forth.

I turned back to Alice who was sitting on top of the counter by the stove.

"Is she going to be thirsty today"? I asked Alice.

She paused as her eyes searched the future for the answer. Her eyes that had went blank were now back to normal after she shook her head.

"No" she said rather cheerful.

Nessie's thirst for blood was growing weaker. She rarely had the need for blood anymore, and she started refusing to go on hunts. She was still beautiful, her skin still hard as stone. Her strength, although still a thousand times more powerful than the average toddler, was diminishing. It was her more human traits beginning to show through as she got older.

As I started making pancakes for Nessie, I felt the desire to

go shopping. Although when I was human I would absolutely dread to go shopping with Alice. But, she was rubbing off on me now. At least I tried to convince myself of that every time that thought crossed my mind.

" Would you like to go shopping when we get back from our hunt"? I asked nonchalantly.

A grin spread across her perfect face. She ran over and gave me a hug that I was sure would have crushed me if I were still human.

"I'm so proud of you Bella, your tastes in fashion are changing so rapidly"! she beamed.

The dark circles under her eyes indicated she needed to hunt as much as I did.

" We will leave soon" she said to reassure me. Again taking the words out of my mouth.

" Is there anyone else that will be joining us" I asked as I flipped over the pancakes and placed them of a plate and retired them on the kitchen table.

"Edward, Emmett, Esme, and Jasper are just on their way back now from their hunt. Rose will stay here when Emmett returns. She will hunt with him later." Alice said just as if she had practiced that speech all morning.

"So its just us then"? I asked running all the names through my head to see if anyone was forgotten.

" No Carlisle will joining us as well" Alice said as she let a giggle escape her.

The kitchen was becoming lighter. The shadows were growing shorter as the light penetrated through the glass walls. The light seemed to be eating at the shadows fighting back the darkness.

"Alice, would you please tell Rose to wake Nessie up, her breakfast is ready. I need to go do a few things."

Alice nodded, and just as she entered the door that lead into the living room, she looked back at me with a smile as her lips pulled back and showed her white gleaming teeth.

"Thirty minutes" she said as she danced out of the room again.

I knocked once on the door that lead to Carlisle's study. There was no answer. I glanced down the hall at a clock that was ticking loudly enough that I couldn't ignore it. It was only quarter to eight. I shook my head and sighed. That's why Carlisle didn't answer. I had forgot that Forks hospital, where he worked, called him in when one of the other doctors called in sick. He would return shortly after everyone else got back from their hunt.

Nessie was awake. I could hear her fork scrape across the glass plate. I walked up the stairs to the third floor, and opened the door to Edward's and my room. I needed to change my clothes before we left and I wanted to be ready so we could leave as soon as possible.

I kicked off the black flats that were on my feet, and placed them back in the box at the top of the closet. I exchanged my leggings for a pair of skinny jeans, and my strapless shirt was hung back up and a button down replaced it. I put on my expensive running shoe, closed the closet door, and was standing beside Nessie in the blink of an eye.

Rose and Alice were standing over Nessie watching her scarf down the last bits of pancake left on the fine china. When Rose realised I had returned she quietly returned to the sitting room, as I heard her turn on the flat screen and flip through the channels at lightening speed.

The curiosity returned as I remembered I wanted to ask Nessie what she had been dreaming about. I knelt down beside her, brushing her hair from her face as I gazed into her chocolate brown eyes, eyes that had once been mine.

" I was watching you sleep last night." I whispered to Nessie. "Can you show me what you were dreaming".

Nessie finished the last of her breakfast, and places her hand on my cheek. I saw everything as if I had dreamt it myself. The images flashed past my eyes. Jake was the main focus of her dream. She was remembering all the times she had spend with him. The dream took a sudden change in direction, as the focused turned to Edward and me, holding her, looking down on her. Then my family came into view as she showed me the happiness that she felt when she was around them.

Her hand left my cheek, as I continued to look deeply into her eyes. If I could cry… I thought.

" Thank you" I told her as I stood up and went to wash her dishes in the sink.

Alice placed her hand on my arm. Just then, the house was filled with cheers of victory. Edward, I had picked out, was laughing at jasper who was attempting to wrestle with Emmett.

"Ok calm down now boys" Esme's voice rang out over Emmett's booming laugh.

Edward's arm was suddenly wrapped around my waist and he pulled me closer to him, his finger gently lifted my chin and his lips found mine. He pulled back and stared into my eyes.

"If only I could blush" I thought to myself. Just to let him know that his kiss continued to do the same things to me.

I leaned in to kiss him again, and pulled away, suddenly becoming stern. A look of worry flashed in his eyes and I had to hold back a laugh.

" We need to hunt together next time" I demanded. "But" Edward tried to stumble out before I cut him off. "Nessie will be fine" I promised. "Get Jacob to come keep her company. We do need some alone time you know". A smirk spread across my face while saying this. He had no choice but to agree and he pulled me closer to him and it seemed like my whole body was lifted just from the pleasure of having him so close to me.

I heard Carlisle's Mercedes turn off the highway onto the long drive that lead to the house. Alice nodded towards me and I gave Edward a parting kiss as Alice made her way to the garage. I wasn't far behind, taking one more glance back at Edward before I turned to follow her.

Carlisle parked the black Mercedes in its usual spot between Edwards silver Volvo and Emmett's muddy Jeep. Rosalie's red BMW convertible was to the left of the Volvo. To the left of the beamer was Alice's yellow 911 Turbo Porsche that Edward had given her a gift to hold me hostage while I was human. The last car on the end sat my "after car", the shinny red Ferrari.

"I just need to change" Carlisle said as he swiftly got out of his car.

Alice and I waited for him to return and we headed towards the edge of the forest at the north side of the house.

Carlisle wasn't long. Instead of his black dress pants and his dress shirt that was a very light shade of blue. He now sported a tight fitting long sleeve black shirt and blue jeans. His eyes were dark as night.

We wasted no time as we darted through the forest. At least with Alice with us, it wouldn't take long for us to find our "meal". No one spoke for the first few hours. Our feet barely touched the forest floor was we ran deeper and deeper into the woods.

Alice led the way with Carlisle and myself close behind her. She stopped abruptly, and her eyes darted from straight ahead to her left, our eyes followed hers on cue.

The faint breeze ruffled the leaves as we closed our eyes. Not to far in the distance was the sound of two mountain lions fighting over a scrap of meat. Just past the lions, to the west, was the sound of a very large bear.

The forest was now dark but that didn't impact our senses in the least. We had spent most of that day trying to find suitable prey which lead us deep into the forest. Alice and I went for the lions, as Carlisle headed for the bear. Our prey was no match for us, we were, after all designed to be the worlds most deadly predator. The fire in my throat that was ragging out of control earlier was now at ease. My thirst almost completely gone.

"Carlisle" I said as we found him finishing off the last of what the bear had to offer.

"Yes, Bella"? Carlisle's said questioningly as he brushed off some of the fur that clung to his shirt.

"I need to block your thoughts before we can talk." I said to both of them.

After a long pause, they both agreed. I forced my mind to include Alice and Carlisle under my protection. I could see the bubble wrap tightly to their bodies.

" I noticed you are documenting Nessie. Also how I felt no pain during my transformation because I was given morphine." I said to Carlisle.

" Yes, is that a problem"? He asked concerned.

"No that's not it at all" I reassured him.

This was hard for me to talk about, but Carlisle need to know the truth.

" I didn't want to hurt Edward, after all he did to make sure I didn't feel the venoms wrath" I paused to collect myself. Just thinking about this was agonizing. I took a deep unnecessary breath and began again.

" The pain was murderous, but I was paralyzed, I wouldn't have been able to scream if I wanted to. But I knew I had to hide the pain from Edward at all costs, after all he sacrificed for me, I owed it to him".

Alice's arm reached out for me. I ignored it as I tried to pull myself together to face Carlisle.

It was Carlisle's hand that reached my shoulder. He looked deep into my eyes and he must have seen the burning pain that was inside me.

"Don't say anything to Edward" I mumbled through tearless sobs.

" We wont say anything". Carlisle promised looking over to Alice giving her a look of warning.

"I'm glad you told me. I thought we made a break through!" Carlisle chuckled as he pulled me into a full hug.

" Its time to get going" Alice's voice broke the silence and Carlisle and I gave each other one last heartfelt look and took off through the trees after Alice.

Before we got back to the house we each caught a black tailed deer that were gathered near a brook. The burning in my throat was completely gone now. Alice and Carlisle's eyes returned to their usual golden brown, and I knew that my eyes were back to their normal color too.

It had taken us another half day to get out of the forest, and it was nearly morning. We reached the eastern edge of the forest that surrounded our home. We all turned up our noses to the very over powering smell of the wolves.

"Jake must be hear watching over Nessie" I said in a laugh as the others nodded in agreement.

Alice and Carlisle must have sensed something I did not as they left me at the front door as they went around to the back. When I opened the front door my ears were suddenly bombarded with the smooth flowing notes that drifted from the piano. There sat Edward, he was playing the lullaby he had wrote me when we met four years ago.

His eyes searched the room and took me in as I stared at his perfection. He laughed lightly and smiled. I walked over to sit beside him.

"You look much better" he chuckled as he started playing my song again.

I let the music fill me up.

" I love you" I said in a whisper.

"Forever and ever" as he kissed my forehead.


	2. The Game

2. The Game

"Bella, practice this part, and I will be back shortly" Edward said in such a soothing voice that I didn't think to ask him where he was going. He slipped off the bench and disappeared immediately.

I had told him I wanted to learn how to play the piano, and he was thrilled when I asked him to teach me. I had to admit, it wasn't easy, and I was getting frustrated.

When Edward didn't return, I thought I would take a break to figure out where he had run off to.

I tried to hide my presence, but he must of heard me just out side his door, or he realised the terrible choppy music had ceased the envelop the house. But he quickly mumbled a few more hurried words into the cell phone he held close to his ear. He snapped it closed and shoved it deep inside his jean pocket.

Edward turned to me instinctively and gave me that reassuring smile.

"You stopped playing" he teased.

" I sounded hideous anyway" I laughed at myself. " You play so effortlessly" I continued mater of factly.

"I have been playing for nearly a hundred years" he pointed out as he shook his head and laughed. " You will get it sooner or later" he promised sending me a look of approval.

"So who were you talking to just now" I questioned as I nodded towards the cell phone that he had put back in his pocket. He didn't answer right away, instead his eyes searched out the glass walls of his room into the forest. Interested in what he was looking for, I swiftly made my way towards him, and wrapped my arm around him and rested my head on his shoulder.

" I love you" I said in a whisper.

Edwards face broke into a smile. He tilted his head suddenly, a gesture for me to look out the window. There he stood, Jacob, in his wolf form.

"You called Jacob" I laughed now slightly amused.

Edward snickered and kissed my forehead, and headed towards his closet.

"I called Jake to come watch Nessie for us" Edward exclaimed as he started taking off his favourite button down shirt and replaced it with a long sleeve grey cotton one.

I had to tear my eyes away from him before I could pounce. He was gorgeous, even standing there in what Alice was sure to call his "grubby" clothes.

" By the way…" he said smirking at me, noticing how difficult it was for me not to tackle him to the ground and shower him with all my love and affection. " I love you too".

The relief came in the form of Carlisle as he entered the room and tossed an old worn in baseball cap in my direction. I mulled this all over before I said anything.

" You mean, were playing baseball"? I asked excitedly.

Both Edward and Carlisle stared at each other and then broke out into a laugh, but before I could shoot a disgruntled look at Edward, Alice interrupted them.

" Its time to go" Alice said happily as she danced by the room and floated silently down the stairs.

It wasn't often Forks got thunderstorms, and whenever Alice foreseen one, my family took the rare opportunity to play a game or two of baseball.

" It's an old American past time" I faintly remembered Edward telling me when he first introduced me to the world of baseball, vampire style.

The only time we can play baseball with out being noticed by humans, is when a good thunderstorm rolls in off the mountains.

I felt the rush of adrenaline serge through my entire body. I actually wanted to play! Of course, I never would have been able to play if I was still human, especially not the frail, fragile, clumsy one I was. But now that I'm strong, and fast, and coordinated, I might actually stand a chance.

"This might be fun" I thought to myself, a smile spreading across my face.

Emmett and Rosalie were already waiting in the front seat of Emmett's supercharged Jeep. Alice and Esme hopped in the back seat, and Edward, although rather unnecessary, helped me up into the last seat in the back next to Alice. He kissed my forehead.

" See you shortly" he said confidently, and was out of my sight before I could blink.

I didn't understand why we had to take Emmett's Jeep. It would have been just as fast on foot. But, Emmett was having fun.

I stared out the window as the trees of the forest melted by in a green blur. For a second I thought I saw Edward dart through the thick wilderness of the forest. I strained my ears to see if I heard him or any of my other family members who were on foot.

Even sitting here alone without him, without him touching me, without his curious eyes bearing into mine searching my eyes for some hint at to what I was thinking. It was painful to be without him. Especially when I knew he was so close.

I took this opportunity to try to savour what memories of Edward I had left from when I was human. I constantly thought of what it was like when his ice cold hands met mine, or the way his marble lips felt as the crushed into mine. These are things I wanted to remember. I wanted to remember what it was like to try to hide the blood that flowed in my cheeks when I blushed. When my stomach did summersaults when he was near.

All the thoughts ceased when I noticed the smoothness of the road underneath the Jeep changed drastically as Emmett pulled off the highway onto a vary steep muddy and rocky incline that headed in the forest. He put the four-wheel drive on as we made our way over the first patch of small boulders and deep muddy puddles. The tiny, rarely used path wound in and out of the trees, through a small creek and up the hill. The darkness of the forest was broken by the thinning of the trees at the edge of the field. Emmett drove into the clearing and turned the Jeep so that it was facing back onto the path.

Emmett and Rosalie were the first to exit the vehicle. They met each other at the front of the Jeep and stared wildly into the trees at the far end. It wasn't hard to read their eyes as they scanned for anything that would pose a threat. This clearing had been the meeting place for death. First when James, the tracker had arrived, and tried to kill me. Then with the massive number of newborn vampires sent by Victoria to kill the Cullen's and avenge James by finally killing Edward and myself.

The last time we were in this clearing was when the Volturi accused us of producing an immortal child. Again it had been all our lives in danger.

It was Alice's voice that pulled me from those horrible past time memories. She called me over to help her set up the bases while we waited for the others to arrive. As I exited the Jeep I realised the Esme had been watching me, a curious, but worried expression on her face. I leaned over and kissed her on her cheek promising that I was ok. She nodded and ushered me out to help Alice.

It took us all of thirty seconds to properly measure out where the bases had to be, and only another ten to nail the bases down. There was still no sign of the rest of my family that had departed from our home on foot.

I wondered briefly if I would even be able to hit one of Alice's fastballs.

"Alice" I called over my shoulder as I walked towards home plate to retrieve one of the fibre glass bats that Alice had carried over before setting up the field.

" Yes, Bella"? She answered from across the field in barely a whisper, but heard her as clear as she had been standing next to me.

" Would you mind pitching to me? I have never played before and I would like some practice". I explained to her.

She laughed at me and was standing on her usual spot at the pitchers mound in the middle of the field.

Emmett and Rose left the Jeep and jogged to the outfield to catch any balls that made it past Alice. Esme stood behind me to act as a back catcher for the balls I missed.

I stepped up to the plate and took my stance as I stared Alice down, watching her every move.

Her first pitch was blinding as it whipped past me with such speed I didn't even notice it until I saw it nestled in Esme's bare hand. Everyone laughed, as I repositioned myself for the next pitch.

Instead of watching Alice this time, my eyes locked on the ball. I pulled the bat back behind my shoulders and put my weight on my back leg. The ball left Alice's hand, and with all might force, I swung at the pitch.

Just as the ball made contact with the bat, a defining crack filled the entire valley. Luckily, at that same precise moment, the first round of thunder crashed just over Forks.

The ball I had hit soared through the air with a flash of white and landed somewhere deep in the woods. Rosalie, who had taken off after my apparent homerun, was back within seconds, ball in hand.

Before I could set up for one more practice, we all stopped and our eyes darted to where Emmett had parked his Jeep. The sound Edward, Carlisle and Jasper caught our attention as we continued to scan the area, and they appeared at the edge of the forest within a minute. They quickly made their way towards Alice. The rest of us followed their lead and met them at the pitchers mound.

" Lets pick teams shall we"? Carlisle said cheerfully as he looked to the dark grey clouds that were hovering closer to earth than usual.

Carlisle stepped away from his family, and called Esme to stand next to him. Edward had made his way to where I stood, and took my hand and wrapped it in his, holding me close to him. I hoped that Edward and I would be on the same team, but I knew that would be very unlikely.

The rest of us lined up presenting ourselves to our potential captains. Carlisle picked his new team mate first.

"Edward" Carlisle announced.

Edward kissed my forehead and went to go stand by his captain. Esme choose Alice as her first team member, and then Carlisle picked Rose.

I looked at the three of us left without a team, and I wondered who was next to be chosen. Emmett's name was called next, and he went to stand next to Alice and Esme. It was only Jasper and me left. To my surprise, Carlisle called me over to join him, and Jasper was left to join Esme's team.

" So lets start this thing" Emmett's excited playful tone not going unnoticed.

Everyone smiled, and my team took our places on the field. Edward and Carlisle went to the far end of the field near the edge of the forest. I played infield, and Rose took Alice's usual pitchers spots.

My heart started racing as Emmett grabbed a bat and stood, waiting for Rose's pitch. A streak of lightening ripped open the sky, and Rose threw a curveball in for Emmett. He hit it with such force that it flew a mile through the forest. Edward, the fastest on our team bolted after it. I thought it would be a home run, until Carlisle told me to go to the home plate.

Just as I reached home, Emmett was rounding third base. When I looked around to Carlisle, I saw something white flying through the air. Edward had found the ball and threw it out of the woods to where Carlisle was standing. Emmett must have seen the ball heading in my direction. He picked up his pace, and when he ran he kicked up large patches of earth behind him.

Before anyone knew what happened Emmett was sliding into home. A dust could engulfed both of us as our family surrounded us waiting for the dust to settle.

My eyes were squeezed tight and I opened them when Carlisle and Edward cheered. With ball in hand, touching the plate and Emmett's foot resting on top of my hand, indicating that he was out. Emmett punched the ground in frustration as my team continued to cheer.

The rest of the inning was just as exhilarating. Jasper and Alice scored once, Esme got their second out, and Emmett got the third and final out. The second inning was our turn at bat.

As usual Alice took her post at the pitchers mound. Carlisle went to bat first. Carlisle smashed the ball high over third base, and almost got when he slid into second base and was met by Esme who missed him by a quarter of a second.

Edward was up next, and popped the ball high in the air. Carlisle made his dash for third, and Edward stopped on the second base. I was up next, and Edward winked at me as I took my place and got ready for the pitch.

To my surprise, I hit the first ball pitched in by Alice. Everyone on the field covered their ears from the done shattering crack that was emitted from my bat when it made contact. I instantly made my bid for first base. I was rounding first when Carlisle scored our first run, and Edward hit home while I was running to third. There was no sign of the ball and kicked it up a notch and I ran straight for home. Just as I hit the home plate, Emmett emerged from the woods. I scored a run and I was greeted by my team mates with cheers. Edwards opened his arms and I jumped into them and he kissed me quickly before putting me back down.

As the storm grew more intense; so did the game. But at the beginning of the eighth inning, the storm started drifting off. My team was up by three runs when Carlisle had to call the game.

Jasper and Rosalie were told to collect the bases, and Emmett stomped off to his Jeep, angry that they didn't get to finish the game. Edward walked quickly to where I was standing. His outstretched hand invited me. My fingertips touched his. The lightest touch from him sent shockwaves of electrical pleasure through my entire body. Our fingers become laced in one another's in an unbreakable tie.

" You played like a pro today" Edward said before pulling me into him.

Our lips connected, his free hand fitted to the back of my neck, and his lips pressed harder into mine. Both of our eyes closed, embracing this oddly romantic moment.

We both pulled away when we realised that our family was staring at us in amazement.

" Don't you think you should wait till you have some privacy before you two get intimate"? said Jasper trying to hid the humour in his voice.

" The whole family knows our business anyway" I mused, giving Edward a playful grin.

" I guess your right" Jasper shrugged in agreement.

" Do you need to hunt"? Edward asked gazing into my eyes.

I hadn't really been thinking about how thirsty I had gotten over the past week. My eyes were sure to have turned the dark onyx with which I had become so familiar.

" If you need to, we can take a detour on the way home" Edward suggested.

I deliberated for a moment and realised his eyes also betrayed his need to hunt, although not as much as I did. His eyes changed from the golden brown to a very dark auburn.

"Don't we have to get home to Nessie ? Jake is probably going mad"! I joked.

Edward laughed under his breath, and took my hand and lead me in the opposite direction of our home.

" We will be back later tonight, Rose, tell Jake to go home. Please bring Nessie to the house and put her to bed." Edward said casually.

Rose nodded and hopped into the Jeep with Emmett. Everyone else somehow managed to squeeze into the back seat. Alice was the last to enter the overloaded vehicle.

"Have fun"! She grinned at us, and she too made her way in to sit in the back between Jasper and Esme.

Emmett turned the key over, and the Jeep roared into life. He tromped on the gas, and mud flew into the air and gave the Jeep a new coat of mud that plastered the entire car, from the wheels to the windows as he sped off onto the path that lead to the highway.

Edward opened the front door to our cottage. We were both completely satisfied after our hunt together. Edward's beautiful golden eyes that I loved so much had returned.

The moment we stepped past the threshold, Edward had slammed the heavy wooden door, and it fell off its hinges and crashed to the floor.

A playful, sexual snarl erupted through his chest, and I couldn't help the same snarl that tore through mine.

Edward threw me against the far wall, right into a bookshelf. The books that had been neatly sorted, we now raining down upon us. We barely noticed when the books pelted us in the head, as we were kissing each other deeply, too caught up in the moment to care about anything except us.

Holding me close to him, he turned me around and we crashed into the wall on the right. As he started to take off his shirt, I took the opportunity and tackled him, sending us hurling through the air, and we landed on the stone floors that cracked under us. I pinned him against the floor, he seemed to like it, so I helped him take off the rest of his shirt and tossed it aside.

We finally made it to our bedroom, after we had sufficiently destroyed the first half of the house without taking any notice to the damage.

Edward shut the door for no apparent reason, and although it was late… the night had really just begun for us. We could keep this up all night. When you never sleep, you need things to keep you busy.

We were taking full advantage of the absence of Nessie. I stared at Edward and he slowly made his way towards the bed where I was waiting for whatever he had in store for!


	3. Place Your Bets

3. Place Your Bets

Edward and I laid silently together, my head resting on his bare chest. Both of us taking deep heavy breaths that matched each other. Edward chuckled, and the broken silence startled me. I pushed myself off his chest and held myself up with my other hand to gaze into his eyes.

" What do you find so funny" I asked him, curiosity ringing in my voice.

" Have you looked around us Bella?" as he laughed again.

I hadn't really noticed anything… my thoughts were solely on him, and the spectacular night that we had just spent together. My eyes strayed from his to take my first real look around the room. I finally understood why Edward would be laughing, and I began to asses the damage.

" Oh…" I stumbled out, I was in shock at the condition of our room.

Another little chuckle escaped him, this time because I was clearly unobservant. Our room was completely destroyed! The full length mirror lay shattered in millions of tiny pieces on the floor. The stone walls were cracked and in most spots torn down completely to reveal the hallway and the sitting room.

The large oak bed that we were laying in also suffered catastrophic damage. The frame was mangled, and the matress was practically on the floor. I sighed and laid my head back down, this time on a pillow. I picked up another pillow and examined it.

" Well at least the pillows survived us this time" I joked, remembering our honeymoon on Isle Esme, where the pillows had not been so lucky. Edward merely stared at me with intrege.

Light was now breaking through the gaps in the walls… it was almost morning, I really couldn't care less. So long as I was alone with Edward, I could lay there with him with out moving for a century… forever I thought.

" Where do you think your going?" I asked angered and upset that Edward had left my side.

Edwards face twisted up into that crooked smile that I loved and went to our closet. It seemed that that was the only place we hadn't managed to destroy in our heated passions for each other.

Regrettably, I forced myself to follow him. Edward was already dressed, and when I arrived at the door he handed me one of the few pieces of clothing that I wore as a human. Obviously he had managed to sneak it past Alice. My blue blouse, it was truly one thing that Edward made a point that I wear. He helped slip it over my shoulders and buttoned it up, purposely leaving the last two undone.

" You're the most beautiful thing in the world" he beamed, as he pulled me an arms length away looking me up and down, and gave a nod of approval.

I smiled sheepishly, and he led the way out of our room, weaving in and out of the scattered debris. When we made it through the bedroom, we witnessed the next area of destruction which we had caused… The living room… it truly was no better off than the room we had just left.

One of the bookshelves that once lined the back stone wall was now leaning on the black leather couch. I faintly remembered the light tapping as the books fell from the shelves on top of us. The stone floor was dented, chipped, and completely crushed in some places. The glass coffee table was shattered and the expensive Persian rug had been shredded. The picture frames that had been placed around the room were now hanging crookedly.

My mouth fell open in disbelief.

" My cottage… our cottage… our home!" I gasped.

I was so distraught. This was our home… our family had given it to us as a wedding present!

Edward wrapped his arm around me as we stood stock still, not moving, we were living statues. I opened my mind to him, to upset for spoken words.

I knew he heard my thoughts because he tightened his hold on me.

" We can rebuild…" he answered my devastated thoughts, but I cut him off with more anguish.

" _It wont be the same, you know it wont be the same, I loved this house, your family gave it to us!__"_

" Please don't worry about it, we can fix it… I promise."

The truth was radiating from him, and it comforted me… for the moment at least.

We took on glance back at the newly ruined cottage, and turned and darted into the forest.

Before the house came into view Edward grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

" Alice is waiting for us" he murmured.

Of course… she would have seen what happened. She must be waiting to confront us. I nodded and tried to brace myself for the upcoming onslaught. We walked slowly the rest of the way, out through the thinning brush. Edward was right, there was Alice, standing on the front steps waiting for us.

She turned her head and the smile on her face was a cause for concern ( at least in my books).

" Your in for it Edward" she said cheerfully as she took my hand and led me into the house.

As we walked through the front door, Emmett and Jasper brushed past us and tried to tackled Edward who must have anticipated it because he ducked out of the way.

" Um.. Alice… was is going on!" I asked stunned.

Rose, who must have been in the garage working on her car appeared, and began to watched Emmett chase Edward around the yard with a disgruntled look on her face. She turned and gave me a reproachful look.

" Thanks to you and Edward, Emmett has to buy Jasper the car he wanted!" she spat at me.

" Somebody better tell me what's going on right now" I demanded with distinct anger in my voice.

Alice deliberated for a moment, trying to choose her words carefully, as she watched Jasper help Edward evade Emmett's angry and semi dangerous attacks.

" Its nothing really Bella… they just had a little bet going on, that's all" she said trying to play it off as nothing major.

I shot her a look of anger and frustration, and I demanded to know more.

" Emmett had made a bet with Jasper…" but before she could continue, I blew up.

" A bet! What was this bet based on" I shouted out. Emmett, Edward, and Jasper stopped dead, and stared at me.

" Its nothing little sis, we were just wondering when you and Edward would get around to demolishing your house" Emmett blurted out followed by his booming laugh.

" Whoa… easy Bella!"

I didn't hear who said it, but Alice tried to pull me back into the house. I managed to escape her hold on my arm, and I tore off into the woods as I was on a mission to hunt both of them down. Alice and Edward I could hear were following close behind us.

"Your going to wish I was still human I when I get through with you two!" I shouted after Emmett and Jasper. I could hear their snickers, which only infuriated me more, and drove me to run faster.

It wasn't long before I caught up to Emmett. I hurled myself into the air and kicked off a fairly large oak tree, which cracked in half and fell to the forest floor. Emmett turned around to see me flying towards him just milliseconds before my body collided with his.

I let my anger, rage, frustration, and embarasment out while my fist continually found Emmett's body which was curled up under me.

" Ge'er off me" Emmett tried to cry out against my endless assault.

He managed to break free from my attack, and before I could spring and tackle him back down to the ground, Alice had caught up to us and pinned me.

"I'm not done with him yet!" I protested, and I saw Emmett and Jasper come back into view, knowing they were safe from me with Alice there. I didn't want to hurt Alice so I gave up my feble attempt to push her off my chest.

Edward and Rose were next to find us. Alice still holding my tense body to the ground.

"Lighten up" Rose spat at me as she stepped over us and made her way into Emmett's arms. I looked at them in disgust and after a moment the rage and tension that was built up inside me subsided. Alice could feel that I was becoming more calm, and released her grip on me. We both stood up, and Edward took my hand and held me close to him just in case I went on the attack again.

"_I wont do that again, I__'__m sorry__"_

Edward nodded at my unspoken remark, and relaxed she shoulders, but still held me closely.

"I'm sorry Emmett" I said under my breath in spite of myself. " You really did deserve that though, you promised to keep out of our love life."

" You cant blame us, it was just too good of a bet to pass it up. And you cant blame me entirely… it was Jasper who came to me with the bet, and I just couldn't pass up something so big" Emmett explained.

I shot a furious look at Jasper and he took two carefully measured steps back, so he would have a head start if I decided to turn my anger onto him.

" Well… is anyone going to tell me what the stakes were?" I asked everyone trying to keep the calm in my tone.

The tension that was between us broke, and it was replaced by relief. It was Edward who answered my question, and I didn't know if he had know about the bet the whole time, or just read everyone's mind.

" If Emmett won, the bet, Jasper would have had to buy him a yacht that he had been looking into getting…" Emmett interrupted as he hissed at Edward and his face changed from this normal joking smile, to an enraged grimace. There was no getting around it… he was pissed that he has lost. A warning snarl broke through Edwards chest.

" You lost fair and square Emmett, give it up." Edward snapped at him and turned back to me. " If Jasper won… well… he is the only one who doesn't have his own car" Edwards eyes strayed from mine as he looked over to where Jasper was standing, and mine followed. A triumphant grin had spread across his face.

" Emmett has to buy me the Audi A8 Spider" Jasper finished off.

Emmett was still angry that he lost, but, he started joking around again, as we made our way through the woods back towards the house.

Esme and Carlisle were waiting for us in the sitting room when we returned. Nessie was reading one of Carlisle's books and when she noticed Edward and I standing in front of the door, she raced over and jumped into my arms. She wrapped her arms around me in a bear hug, and it felt like she was never going to let go.

She finally pulled out of the hug, and placed the back of her hand to my face and she showed me how upset and lonely she had been while we were apart.

"I'm sorry" I told her, and she put her hand to my face once more and showed me that we were forgiven.

" So I guess you will be staying back with us for a while?" Carlisle stated, not really asking a question.

I half smiled and felt embarassed again as I turned to Edward. Carlisle laughed in response, then disappeared. Edward nudged me, and cocked his head in the direction of Emmett and Jasper.

I focused into what they were saying, and realized that they were making another bet. I put Nessie back on her feet on the floor, and told her to go watch tv.

"Everyone to the garage… now!" I ordered. "Esme… please go get Carlisle and meet us out there please" I continued trying to be poilite.

Once Carlisle and Esme arrived, they went to go stand next to Alice. I finally made up my mind as to what I was planning on saying. Alice must have seen what I was going to do next.

" Definitely!" she said excitedly, and went to sit on the hood of her beloved car.

I ignored her and turned to the others. "Seeing how everyone now has a car" I stopped and glanced at Jasper. " Well… almost, and seeing how everyone here loves to make bets. Lets all be in on this one… I car race. Take your car and race by yourself, or race in teams only using one car per team. Who ever wins… gets what they want, losers have to buy. Make side bets if you wish. Anyone in?" I asked after my proposal and went to my car and slid my hand down the back of the red Ferrari, which I hadn't driven yet.

Emmett and Rosalie were the first to accept, followed by Edward and Jasper. Carlisle looked at Esme as they took a moment to think, and they too decided to join in.

" Jasper, when will receive your car?" I asked this more of Alice than Jasper but it was Jasper who answered.

" It will be here in two weeks" he responded quickly.

" Fine… the race is one month from today then" I snapped and turned to walk out of the garage. While my back was turned I couldn't help but to smile. As I made the final steps back into the house, I could hear everyone already discussing what I had just done, then the subject quickly turned from me, to what they wanted and were already making bets amongst each other.

I went to sit beside Nessie, and watched her as she continued to read the book where she had left off. Edward finally left the garage with Carlisle and Esme at his heals. Edward sat next to me while Carlisle went back to his study closely followed by Esme. We sat motionless as we watched our daughter. I caught a glimpse at the title of the book she was reading when she closed it and placed it back on the smallest bookshelf in the entire house.

Introduction to Modern Medicine

"Wow" I thought aloud. I opened my mind to Edward and let my thoughts flood to him. My thoughts were rapid, and jumped quickly, from events that happened today, to plans for the race.

" _I__'__m surprised that Carlisle opted to join in__"_and Edward answered my bewildered thoughts.

" You would be surprised what Carlisle likes to do" he said with his crooked smile. " Carlisle is just as passionate about his car as the rest of us… and he loves to show us up and win a bet here and there" he laughed.

" _You know your going to have to teach me how to drive that car of mine.__"_

He nodded, and sat thinking without saying anything more for a long while. I didn't mind the silence, but I kept my mind open to him, sharing every thought and emotion with him.

" So… do you want you first driving lesson" Edward's dazzling voice broke the silence.

"When" I asked suddenly cheerful.

"What about right now?" he asked. I smiled up at him and we left Nessie in the care of Esme, and we walked back to the garage.

Emmett and Rose were still having their discussion on whether or not they would take the beamer or Emmett's Jeep.

"Were taking my beamer and that's that." she stated " and your not driving, that's my car… if you want any chance of winning you will keep your mouth shut and let me drive" she said ending the conversation and stormed back into the house. Emmett sported an unfamiliar look on his face, it was something between anguish and frustration, and he too stormed away in a different direction than Rose.

" Where's Jasper?" I asked Alice confused as I looked around to see if I just missed him standing there, but I knew I hadn't. Alice who had her head under the hood of her car didn't look up when she answered.

" He went to hunt" she answered without looking up at me.

" _Didn__'__t he just come back from a hunt yesturday?__"_I asked Edward in my thoughts being careful not to upset Alice.

Edward waved my question away with a flick of his hand. "Get in" he said as he held open the drivers side door to my Ferrari.

I didn't question him, instead I slid into the drivers seat, where the strong scent of new leather greeted me. He shut my door and almost instantly climbed into the passenger seat.

" Maybe I should just drive with you in your car in the race" I said as I delayed turning the key over in the ignition.

" No, I don't think that would be a good idea… I want to see which car is faster" he retorted. "Plus, don't you want to try to beat me at something?" he asked comically and laughed.

That was all I needed… I turned the key over and the engine purred to life. I put my foot on the clutch and carefully manoeuvred the shifter into first gear, and I felt the power of the car explode through me as I let up off the clutch, and eased on the gas just as Edward had shown me before with my "before car". The car took off out of the garage and flew down our driveway. The car had almost reached fifty miles per hour before we even reached the highway, and we were still in first gear!

"Second" Edward prompted.

I nervously put my foot back on the clutch and threw the shifter into the second gear position. When I released the clutch this time the car jolted forward and then flung us back into our seats as the speedometer hit one hundred mph. We whipped around a sharp corner in the road and I was sure we were going to lose control, but the tires held to the asphalt, barely, as the car continued down the highway.

I switched into third gear before Edward instructed me to, now really feeling one with the car. Everyone, including Edward was going to have some competition with my car in the race. This time when I glanced at the speedometer it read one hundred and seventy and I wasn't surprised to see it shoot up to two hundred when I tromped on the gas pedal.

"When your ready…shift into neutral and slam hard on the breaks while cranking your wheel to the left"

" Are you kidding! Your going to kill us both!" I stopped to think about what I had just said and I sighed the crazy statement I had just made, we wouldn't die but… " what about the car… if I crash your buying me a new one" I reasoned with him.

He merely shrugged in agreement, and grabbed the bar above the door to keep him sitting upright.

"When your ready" he smiled at me in encouragement.

I deafening squeal filled the car as the disc breaks kicked in and locked in place, and I cranked the wheel as hard as I could to the left just as instructed. The car did a total one eighty and I Edward shifted the car into second gear while I still had my foot on the clutch. I pressed hard on the gas and I cloud of smoke billowed outside and the smell of burnt rubber engulfed the entire car, as the tires spun, and then the car fishtailed then lurched forward and back onto the open highway.

"_Whoa__…__ that was exhilarating__"_I thought to myself.

"Yes, it was" Edward answered with a laugh. I had to give a little laugh to, happy that I didn't crash my car, my car that I had suddenly become very fond of.

"So are you going to tell me why Jasper is hunting again?" I asked as I stayed quiet till Edward answered.

"We don't know… he doesn't even know, he has never had to hunt this much before. He's probably just doing it to make sure he wont slip. You shouldn't worry… he will be fine."

I mulled this over in my head, this made sense, Jasper has always had troubles with this diet… being a "vegetarian".

" _I love you Edward__"_I thought practically screaming it in my thoughts. Edward laughed at this and he put his hand over mine that was resting on the shifter.

"I love you too Bella… My Bella." I smiled at the thought of being… "His". I let the car coast up the driveway and let it drift into its spot at the far end of the garage. Alice was still there working on her car, and she was probably anxious for Jasper to return. I put the emergency break on, turned the key and the purr of the engine drifted off.

When I got out of my car, I went to take Edward's hand as we made our way to the door. And I stopped at Alice's car…

"You still up for that shopping trip?" I asked charismatically.

"Sure.. We can go tomorrow" she responded unenthusiastically. Something was aggravating her, but instead of questioning her now, I would wait to ask her tomorrow when we would be alone, with privacy.

Nessie had already gone to bed when we returned, so Edward went to sit at the piano. He played a few random songs at first, followed by my lullaby, and then Esme's favourite's. When Esme heard him playing her and Carlisle returned to the living room to listen to their son play. I went and sat next to him on the bench. I tried to memorize all of keys he was touching so that I could try to see if I could play it later.

By the time he had stopped playing Alice and Jasper had also come to listen to the beautiful music . I wasn't sure when Jasper got back, but he probably didn't go far to hunt, there were many deer around that he could easily pick off. The sun started creeping overtop of the trees and morning had arrived, and I wondered if Alice would let me drive us to go shopping and the song Edward was playing slowly drifted to an end.


	4. Seattle

Seattle

I quietly said my goodbyes to Edward, we shared a short lived passionate kiss, and just as I was about to pull away he pulled me back into a bone crushing hug. I knew how he hated for me to leave, just about as much as it hurt me to leave him. It was like leaving an insurmountable piece of ourselves behind when we were not near each other, and it hurt.

Alice was staring at us from the corner of the room, and she didn't look like the usual cheerful self, but rather distant, blank, and it reminded me of the look she wore when she and Jasper left to hunt down witnesses for Rensmee.

" I'm right behind you Alice" I reassured her, and she disappeared.

" I love you Edward, please don't worry, we will be back before you know it."

" Go enjoy yourself, and try to get Alice to talk, she has been keeping her thoughts to herself and its been driving me mad not knowing what's wrong." he pleaded.

With one last kiss, he turned and went upstairs. I sighed and followed Alice out to the garage.

I had been very careful not to think about driving my car to Seattle, because I knew she would protest, and when I got in the garage it was clear she hadn't seen that I wanted to take my car because she was sitting behind the wheel of the yellow Porsche. When I didn't open the passenger door to join her, she stared at me with wondering eyes.

"Mind if I drive"? I asked hopefully.

"No." she said flatly.

I didn't know how to persuade her, and I didn't want to upset her more, so I shrugged and plopped down beside her.

The car's engine purred to life and we were soon speeding down the long driveway. The trees passed us in a green blur, and the car bounce a little when we left the dirt drive to the highways smooth pavement.

We both sat in complete silence as we raced at deadly speeds towards the city. I felt awkward sitting next to her when she was like this, she had always been chatty, and I would have guessed she would have taken the whole ride up with some sort of conversation, or at the very least had the music blasting.

I laughed in spite of myself, and wondered if her stereo was as good as Edwards. I vaguely remembered one of my human memories, when Alice had picked me up from work to keep my hostage for a weekend while Edward was out with his father and brothers to hunt. The whole frame of his Volvo shook with the bass.

"What"? she asked surprised at my sudden and unexplainable giggle.

" Nothing Alice, its just I have never really seen you like this, and I was just thinking of some old memories of mine."

"Oh… I'm sorry Bella" she whispered.

"Alice, please tell me what's wrong, I have never seen you like this, its… scary." I questioned cautiously. I didn't know how else I could have brought it up, but it was out there now, and I waited for a long moment while sat thinking.

A few minutes had passed and she still sat as silent as before, her eyes staring out the window, yet they were not focused on the road, but were far off in thought. I turned my gaze from her and stared out to the blank openness of the road ahead.

" Its Jasper… well, everyone really" she finally said. " I don't know what's wrong Bella, I don't know what's going to happen, I don't know when… but its going to be bad. I can just feel it, something really bad is going to happen, and I'm scared"

I had a feeling she wasn't done, and I waited for her to continue. I heard the sharp intake of breath and she turned to me.

" Bella, I think its time we left Forks, I think you need to say your goodbyes to Charlie…and I know that's something that you didn't want to do, but I keep seeing Renee coming here. She will fight with Charlie, I cant see past that. All I keep seeing is Jasper, and he is not with us, and we are searching, but I cant tell for what, but my guess is to look for him."

That had taken me by surprise, I never thought of leaving Charlie, or Forks. Not now, not when I thought I would be able to stay close to my family. And what about Jacob? There was no way that he would let us leave, not without following us, no matter how far we went, or the dangers involved. What would this do to Nessie, to leave her grandfather, to leave Sue, to leave her pack friends? I hadn't noticed how much time had passed, I was so deep in thought. Alice cleared her throat and my eyes focused again and landed on her face.

" We cant leave Alice" my voice so low that I wasn't even sure I had said it out loud. " Is there anyway… to stay? For a few more years at least?" She shook her head in response, and I could tell that she meant it, and I knew that this wasn't the option that she wanted either.

" We shouldn't take the risk, if we stay I don't know what will happen, the only option I see is for us to move on." Another brief silence followed as she thought what to say next. " We were lucky, to have been able to stay this long Bella. I know you are very new to this life, and I know you don't fully understand how our life has to be, they way we have to live. It wont be easy for any of us, but its time." she left it at that and waited for me to respond.

My mind was swimming with this new information. I would never put my new family in jeopardy ever again, I know I wouldn't, but at the same time, I couldn't fathom leaving everything I loved behind. How was I going to break this to Charlie and Jacob? It would hurt them for us to leave as much as it would hurt us. Alice had said that Renee would come and fight with Charlie, but I did not know of Renee's plans to come to Forks. So how long could we possibly have? Days? Weeks? Months? Would I ever to get to see Charlie again after we left? Or my friends from La Push? From the way Alice was saying things it didn't look good.

The car started to slow as we got closer to the city, my mind was still racing and Alice seemed to be lost in thought as well. And it surprised me when Alice turned on the stereo and popped in her favourite CD and started singing along in a slightly higher pitch.

" Well, we might as well make this a good trip" she told me. " Since you know what's going on, I can be more myself I guess." she said with a grimace. " Where would you like to go first? Downtown or the University Village?" she didn't wait for me to make my decision, " Downtown it is" she said with a smile, the first real one I had seen from her in over a week.

We parked the car in a very large ten story parking garage and got out to roam the several square blocks that were compacted with many designer shops.

She ignored the first few stores we came across, obviously they we not up to her standards for clothing, and I didn't object, I would humour her and let her have her way today. Although I found it quite unnecessary to spend so much on designer clothes when you could get some really good stuff at a more reasonable price. But Alice liked her designer brands and I had to admit most of the stuff was really sheik.

Our first stop was in a fashion boutique called Betsy Johnson. I was in complete shock as I browsed through the store, and notice the insane prices. I knew I needed a few more tank tops and was thankful that my heart didn't beat anymore because I was sure I would have had a heart attack.

"Alice! They want a hundred and twenty dollars for this tank top, that's a bit ridiculous" I hissed at her. She merely rolled her eyes at me and was holding a beautiful mini dress in her hand. It was blue and would probably be shorter than knee length.

" Don't worry about the prices Bella, they mean nothing, get whatever you'd like, my treat, oh, and try this on, it would look so cute on you I think…" She tossed it over and started flitting through another rack.

By the time we had tried on almost everything in the store, Alice had picked out and decided to get a few things she really like. " We still have more stores to go to, pick your favourites" I heard her telling herself as she contemplated which items she would return and which she wanted to keep. We ended up getting the same dress, mine in blue, hers in pink. I got a tank top that was slightly cheaper than the first one I had seen, a cardigan, and a pair of skinny jeans with a skull on the back pocket. Alice's selection included a mini skirt two tops, and a necklace that she said leaving it behind would be a crime.

After the final item was rung in the total was over a thousand dollars, and as I went to object she waved me away and tossed her credit card to the cashier with a wry smile.

We again passed a few more shops that Alice seemed to decline without a second glance the next shop was an antique shop called Isadora's Antique Clothing. This shop was filled with old style clothing that neither of us preferred and left without purchasing anything.

I tried to fill our time with conversation about her favourite shops she had been to, and her favourite designers and places she would love to go to shop. " Well I would love to go to London, I heard they have a really good selection of designer clothing and all the best shops, or maybe Paris?" she answered absentmindedly while she was pondering over whether or not to get another mini dress that she had found.

I was finding it very hard to concentrate on having fun when all I wanted to do was get home to Edward and my family to discuss what Alice had seen, and what the plan was now, whether we would leave right away or wait until she saw something more concrete. But Edward would say that by the time she saw something it might be too late, that it would be better to leave sooner rather than later. I knew him well enough to know that that would be his conclusion, and I knew the rest of the family would feel the same for the most part.

"You getting that?" Alice nodded to the shirt I was holding in my hand. " You have been starring at it for five minutes" she laughed. "Oh, umm, no, I already got something like it" I said sheepishly and returned it to the shelf it had been on.

By the time we finished with the last shop on the block we were carrying about twenty bags full of designer clothing and accessories and thought it best to take it back to the car. We shoved the last bags in the surprisingly spacious trunk and discussed where we would go next.

Alice contemplated over two malls and decided we would go Westlake Centre Plaza. " There are a few stores there which I think you would love!" she beamed.

It didn't take us long to get there, so there wasn't much time for me to dwell on my worried thoughts, and decided that I would lock them away until we got back home. Alice slid effortlessly into a parking space that I never would have though even her compact Porsche would have been able to fit in, and began our tour of the mall.

There was a store there that was filled with adorable designer clothing for children and we spend at least an hour picking up new outfits for Nessie. Alice seemed to really enjoy this. She loved dressing her in the cutest outfits she could find and most of the time they too had outrageous price tags attached to them. I never understood why she needed to get her name brand clothing, Nessie outgrew most things within a few months. Not that it mattered Rosalie and Alice had so many clothes for her that she never got to wear the same thing twice.

I really liked the next store she dragged me into; Banana Republic. They had sensible pricing at least, it still wasn't cheap but it was definitely and improvement from the first few stores we had been in.

We had to make three trips out to the car to put away everything that we had gotten. It wasn't heavy, not to us, anyway, but it would have been suspicious if we were carrying so many bags by ourselves without any extended effort.

" So, I think we can call that a day" Alice said proudly as she stuffed her final bag into the already crammed trunk.

" Yea, I guess" I said smugly " because we didn't get enough already. Your going to have to tell me the lottery numbers for tomorrow night just so we can justify buying all this."

Alice glared at me and her eyes seemed to go blank for a split second before she countered " Nine, eleven, seventeen, twenty-four, thirty-one, and… thirty-eight."

I rolled my eyes and slammed the door shut behind me but not before I heard her amused laugh.

It took us an even shorter amount of time to get back home than it did going there, partially due to the lighter traffic. The sun had already set, and everyone had already raced home after a long day at work. And when we pulled off the highway onto our drive, I concentrated on opening my mind, so that Edward would hear my thoughts, " We are home, meet us in the garage" I thought to myself, and then I let the protective shield snap back into place over my mind.

"Alice, we need to talk to everyone tonight, we need to start getting things sorted out, and I know they are anxious to know what's been going on" I explained just as the house started to come into view. The light from the house pouring out and spilling out into the darkness that surround it.

Alice manoeuvred the car back into its designated spot and went to retrieve her new wardrobe from the trunk. Edward was suddenly at my side and helped carry in the fifty or more bags that held what I guessed would now be my new wardrobe as well and I let out a low sigh and wondered which articles of clothing that I had would be able to stay and which ones I would have to retire and never wear again.

" When we get all this put away…" I laughed lightly " we need to get everyone together, Alice has some things we need to go over."

Edward's lips twitched and turned up into a small smile. He seemed to be pleased that I had been able to talk to Alice, but his eyes burned with curiosity, and then that flickered to worry when I didn't say any more on the issue.

He helped me put everything away, and storing some of my older clothes in boxes to make room for the new ones. It only took ten minutes but it seemed like hours. I could feel his eyes on me, and a few times he had opened his mouth to speak, but seemed to either be at a loss for words, which I thought unlikely, or seemed to know I would not say anything until everyone was gathered.

Alice had already asked everyone to join us in the kitchen by the time we had finished and we were the last to join them. Carlisle's eyes kept flickering from Alice to me, not knowing who would speak first. Emmett looked bored, Jasper held the same worried expression he had for the past few days, Edward was composed but his eyes burned with frustration and he seemed anxious. Rose looked confused, she obviously had not notice anything was going on. Esme's expression was guarded, and I couldn't tell what she was making of the situation.

" Well… lets get this thing started" I stated as I took a seat next to Edward, and everyone's eyes fell onto Alice and waited for her story.

**_Update:_**

**_Sorry it has taken so long to post this chapter... i have been really busy, and I have only gotten one review so i was feeling discouraged. Please write a review, it only takes a second to say what you think whether you think this a good story or bad, and if i should continue, and any advice to help it become better. I would appreciate any and all comments, thanks! The next chapter is on its way, again sorry about the delay!_**


	5. The Upper Hand

**Update:**

**So this is chapter five, im sorry its a bit short! Pleease leave a review! Were starting to get to the good stuff now. More greatness to come! What awaits our beloved Cullen family? Keep reading to find out!**

The Upper Hand

Alice spent almost half an hour describing what she had seen, and what she thought we should do. Everyone sat silently taking in the news. I carefully watched everyone's face change expression with every new detail, and it took me off guard when no one was surprised when Alice said that we needed to move away from Forks.

" Well that does seem logical" Carlisle finally said once Alice had finished. " We have been lucky enough to have been able to stay here this long." and he turned to asses my reaction.

I didn't focus on what he had said. I already guessed that this would be the only option, and so I was able to keep my emotions in check. Edward wrapped his arm around my shoulder and held me close to him. After a few more minutes of silence everyone started to chat amongst themselves. Carlisle was wondering when he should put in his notice to the hospital, Emmett and Rose were discussing whether or not they would go on another honey moon until they rest of us got settled where ever we were going to move to. Jasper was comforting Alice and held her tightly their hands intertwined. I heard him promise her again that he would never leave her and that she had nothing to worry about.

Edward and I sat very still, and I had pulled away the protective shield that covered my mind, and he answered my thoughts quietly in my ear. And after a while it had finally occurred to me that Nessie wasn't with us, I had an idea where she would be, but I had to ask.

" Is Nessie with Jacob at the cottage?" I questioned.

It was at this point that everyone stopped to stare at me, obviously I had missed something.

" Bella, we were actually planning a trip this weekend, all of us, and Nessie wouldn't have been able to come with us." he explained. " So we decided that she could spend the weekend in La Push with Jake. She will be perfectly safe there so please don't flip." he said with a smile that faded to worry as my expression turned to anger.

"Your letting her stay in La Push the whole weekend!" I shouted and I leapt up from my chair and stormed through the kitchen and made my way to the back door.

" Bella, just leave them, they will be fine, Jacob will bring her back on Sunday when we return. Please calm down." his smooth velvety voice penetrated right through me, and the anger that had flooded me disappeared just as quickly as it arose, and I was sure that Jasper had something to do with that too.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. " What exactly are we doing this weekend" I spat through my teeth.

" Well, I was thinking, it might be useful to us in the future if we knew the basics of tracking, that… and Emmett is bored, he wants a challenge, so everyone thought it would be fun to try it out. Its going to take a least three days, so we will leave in a few hours." Edward explained calmly.

Another wave of calm washed over me, and I couldn't find it in me to fight any longer. I glared at Jasper who smiled back at me.

" Sorry" he muttered.

I pulled an Alice and stuck my tongue out at him and went outside and sat on the porch. My head ached with everything I had to think of. I didn't think an extended hunting trip was called for right now. Not in the name of fun anyway. Edward was suddenly beside me both his one arm wrapped around my waist, his mouth at my neck and I could feel him slid his mouth up towards my ear and followed the line of my jaw back down. And I turned my head into him and rested on his shoulder.

I let go a rush of tearless sobs as Edward rubbed my back soothingly. We sat together until Emmett barged through the open door and knocked Edward down the stairs.

"Lets go! I'm so bored, and Alice says that we need to be back by Sunday night at the latest so that doesn't give us much time." he complained.

I shot him a furious look, but then laughed at him when he attempted to imitate the same look.

" Fine, lets get going then" I agreed. " So what exactly are we going to be doing?" I asked slightly intrigued.

" Instead of hunting… were going to try to track our prey, for as long as we can." Edward said smoothly and then he lunged at Emmett and tackled him to the ground. I heaved a sigh and went to change into more suitable attire for this hunting trip.

It seemed everyone was waiting on me when I got back down stairs. Carlisle and Esme decided they would join us, as well. Rose obviously thought this was pointless, it was if it was written clear across her face. Emmett was almost bouncing up and down with excitement. Alice and Jasper were waiting at the door their hands interlaced peering into each others eyes. And Edward's face screwed up into a heart stopping smile flashing his brilliant gleaming teeth.

"Okay, lets get this party started" Emmett boomed as he raced towards the open door and flung himself out into the darkness.

Everyone laughed at the same time and followed his lead. Esme and Carlisle were the last to leave, the shut the last of the lights off in the house, and the yard cessed to glow and was now rather lit from the full moon that was creeping through the clouds.

When we were deep in the forest Edward had made us all stop, so that he could give his careful directions.

" We will split up into two's" he announced. " Pick up the scent of the prey you choose. Track them as long as you can. Then once you find them, that's when you attack."

Everyone said their goodbyes, and it was no surprise when Emmett grabbed Rose's hand and dragged her off into the woods.

" See you all in a few days!" Alice beamed and her and Jasper were the next couple to go off on their tracking adventure, closely followed by Carlisle and Esme. Edward and I were the last to take a heading.

We started to enter a part of the forest that I did not recognise. And I wondered where Edward would want to start. We ran hand in hand our breathing syncronized, and at least for now, I was content, content just being with him, and it seemed like the further we ran, the more relaxed I'd become. Like our problems were tied to some invisible boundary that they could not cross. And I remembered how it felt when Edward would drive me to the werewolf-vampire treaty line, how the invisible line divided my two worlds.

I could feel the temperature change, it wasn't cool anymore, nor was the air damp. And it seemed like the sun was beginning to rise too soon. I was sure it wasn't that late when we left, and yet I was positive that we hadn't been running that long either.

Edward glanced at my face and smiled in amusement to the apparent confused look that my face held. But before he could ask me what I was thinking he stopped dead in his tracks. It took my by surprise when he was no longer at my side and my body jolted and stuttered to a stop. He let go of my hand and closed his eye and took a deep breath through his nose.

It was then that I caught the scent. It took me a while to recognise what it was, the scent was maybe two days old and it seemed diluted, it must have rained. But I could smell it faintly, it was a bear…no, another scent crossed it. Two bears, perfect! Edwards eye opened slowly and grinned at my concentration.

"It runs north east… I think" I said with an answering smile.

"Very good" he complemented. "Would you care to take the lead?"

Why was he asking me to take the lead? Heck I was still new to all of this, let alone tracking. But, I wanted to prove that I could do this, so I turned around took off in the direction that the scent was coming from.

Edward made sure he kept a distance between us, nothing to far, maybe fifteen feet or so, but enough to let me take charge and he was more than willing to sit in the passenger seat while I followed the trail. Every so often I would make adjustments to our course and he would praise me whenever I did this, and it only drove me to concentrate harder.

A full day had passed since we had first started tracking, and the scent grew stronger with every stride we took. We skidded to a halt when Edwards phone broke through our careful concentration. It was hard for me to stop, the trail was fresh now, maybe a few more hours until we caught up to them.

After all this work it took to track them, I imagined how good it would with their hot blood running down my throat, easing the burning thirst that was almost raging out of control now. My tongue glided over my lips, and I wanted to keep moving. I shifted my weight towards the fresh trail as a hint, but Edward wasn't paying attention he was profoundly immersed in the conversation with who ever had called him.

I watched all the emotions play across his face, first it was confusion, followed closely by worry, anger and finally his features twisted into a mock grin.

" Well, we cant all be good at tracking Alice… if you want we can try again soon if you'd like. But I have to go, Bella and I are close to finding our prey. We will probably be a little late coming back, were halfway to Alaska right now."

Had we really gone that far? I didn't even really know how long we had been gone, but it had obviously been a while. Edward hurried a few more words into the receiver and returned it to his jean pocket.

" What did Alice want" I asked and I grabbed his hand for him to follow me.

"Oh, nothing really… Jasper couldn't handle the tracking. He lost control and attacked a deer that was nearby. They were on the trail of a mountain lion and they were getting pretty close by the sounds of it. It seems you really have the upper hand on this tracking business" he sighed.

" Well, were really close too, so lets get a move on" I prompted.

He gently kissed my forehead, took my hand and we sprinted off to find our meal. It didn't take long before we caught up to the bears. Grizzlies, I wondered if Emmett was a lucky as us. Edward and I perched ourselves in a tree and wait for the right moment to spring. I could hear and feel their pulse and my throat ached and burned, and I could taste the venom flood my mouth.

It was instinctive, Edward and I launched into the air and took down our prey at the same time. I went for the quick kill, I snapped my bears neck and ripped through its thick fur and fat where I sank my teeth into it.

When I was finished I stood up and laughed in amusement to see Edward still wrestling around on the ground with the bear. I cleared my throat and Edward turned to smile at me. Finally, he sunk his teeth into the bears throat and they both crashed to the ground, the last of the bears' life was slipping away with each beat of his heart that rushed the blood to Edwards' awaiting burning thirst.

When he was finished, he straightened up, brushed himself off, and joined me.

"That was fun, Edward" I said with a smile.

It really had been fun, and I was better at tracking then I thought I would be. But now it was time for us to head home, and our time alone would be over, for who knew how long. All the sudden I was no longer on my feet. Edward had knocked into me and threw me to the ground, whilst playful snarls erupted from his chest. He rolled me over and we landed on top of some ferns. His lips chafing across my neck and jaw. His hands wandered across my body, taking in every inch of me.

"I love you Bella Cullen" he breathed in my ear then went to kiss me, his lips crushed into mine and his moulded to mine.

It was a good thing I didn't need to breath anymore, because it the kiss lasted longer than any kiss we had shared before. Our passions flared and last most of the afternoon, it was only when the sun ducked behind the tree's that we came to our senses and realised we had to head back home.

Edward almost yanked my arm out of its socket when he pulled me too my feet. He took a deep breath threw his nose, and started back the way we had come.

Every so often he would slow, and let me take the lead to see if I could find my way back. It was even easier than following the scent of the bears, I was so attuned to Edwards fragrance that I was sure I could pick it up anywhere. The darkness encroached upon us, and the wind blew the leave in the canopy and the shimmering light from the moon danced through out the forest, and how it played across Edwards smooth features.

We finally reached the place where we first picked up the trail, so I knew we not too far from our home, and I wondered if anyone other than Alice and Jasper had made it back yet. I punched Edwards shoulder lightly in a playful gesture.

"Race you back?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow and gazed at me with his bright golden eyes. We hadn't broken stride, and Edward made a movement that made me think he was going to slow to a stop, but instead he launched himself into the air, kicked off a tree and hit the ground running.

"No fair!" I screamed after him. He was fast, but not nearly fast enough. I was giggling when I caught up to him, even with his head start he was quickly overcome. He might have been the fastest before, but him and I were closely matched. We were neck and neck when we came to the stream, and it seemed like it was going to be a tie until till Edward made a move I didn't expect. As I hurled myself off a rock, Edward charged right through the water and beat me to the other side. He was at the back door before I landed.

"Dammit!" I cursed to myself. Edward chuckled and held the door open and wait for me to catch up.

"I'll get you next time" I warned him.

" If you say so, love."

It looked like everyone was back already. An over powering stench reach us and we both wrinkled our nose in disgust. Jacob was there, and Seth was sitting by his side, and he was bouncing Nessie on his knee. When Nessie saw that we had returned her face lit up. Her outstretched arms called for me. I rushed to her and scooped her up into my arms and held her close to my chest. Edward joined us, and she leaped from me to him and clung to his chest, snuggling her head under his chin and seemed content to stay there.

"I miss you mommy, and daddy" she chimed.

"I'm sorry sweet Rensmee" Edward cooed.

With a smile still present on my face, I turned around and jumped a little when I realised Jasper had been standing right behind me. His expression was wild with excitement. His hand flew to his pocket and then he was dangling a key in front of my face.

"My car came today" he announced. " Ready to get your butt kicked?" he said with a wry smile. Everyone had conjured around us and waited for my response. There was only one thing I needed to say to him, to all of them, as I glanced back to each of their faces before it landed back on him.

"Bring it on!"


	6. Ladies and Gentlemen Start your Engines

**OK, so this chapter has to be the hardest I have ever had to write.... I hope you enjoy! Reviews please?**

Ladies and Gentlemen; Start your Engines!

On our way to the garage, everyone was securing their bets they had already made. I decided I might as well make a few of my own. I knew I was going to win. I had the best car by far, in my opinion.

"Emmett! What do you say to a little bet between us?" I knew he would bite, he could never pass a bet up, and the look in his eyes proved my point. " If I beat you.." I continued. " You will openly admit, that I'm stronger, faster, and have a greater mental competence, than you."

" And if I beat you?" he inquired.

" If you beat me… then you are free to make whatever snide comments you want about me. Sound fair?" He pondered my proposition for a minute, and came to a conclusion.

"Your on!" he boasted.

Carlisle went around to pass out radio's so that Edward or Alice could warn us if there were cops around, or trouble that they seen. Of course we would all use it to taunt one another, I was looking forward to egging Emmett on. And when Carlisle went to pass Rose and Emmett their radio, Emmett declined.

"Give that to Rose, I've decided not to drive with her" Emmett said, and passed it off to Rosalie. " Edward, mind if I take your bike?"

Rose looked furious! But Edward shrugged and handed over a small silver key. Carlisle went to fetch something from a nearby drawer, and handed Emmett a wireless headset that would connect him to us.

This just keeps getting easier to told myself. Roses' beamer and Carlisle Mercedes were definitely no match to mine or Edwards cars, so I needn't worry about them. Now that Emmett was using Edward motorcycle, well, if I wanted to I could sides swipe him if I need to. It was really down to Alice, Jasper, Edward and myself, as to who would win.

"Where are we racing to anyway" Rose spat. I hadn't really thought about that one, and I deliberated for a moment before answering.

" The first one to get to Vancouver and back… wins!" I announced. And it seemed reasonable, no doubt anyone of us, even in the slower cars could manage that distance in about four hours or so.

Within two minutes everyone was equipped with a radio, super charged vehicles, and cockiness. The taunts began to fly through the air, and Carlisle had to call everyone to order. Edward had left to go retrieve his special car from smaller garage near the front of the house, and the rest of us hopped into the driver's seat of our vehicles. I watched Emmett climb on top of Edwards Ducati, and I had to laugh. He looked way to big to be seen sitting there, like he would crush it if he sat down fully. He put the kick stand up with the back of his heel, and turned the key in the ignition, and revved the throttle.

Just then the glossy black of Edwards Aston Martin came into view in front of us. I turned my radio on, and turned the dial to channel three, so that I was only connected to Edwards radio.

" I love you, and oh yea… good luck, your going to need it!" I sang. His laugh broke through the speaker on my radio, and it made me smile.

" No love, you're the one who is going to need the luck. And please try to be careful, you wont be to impressed if you happen to crash your car" he warned. And I turned the radio on channel one and spoke to everyone.

" Ladies and gentlemen… start your engines!"

One by one everyone started their cars and were revving their engines. Edward's voice came smoothly through the speaker once again, and directed everyone to follow him until we got about a mile out onto the highway.

I watched as Edwards car inched forward, and I let up off the clutch, and was the first to follow. Alice was right on my tail followed by Jasper and Emmett gliding next to his new car. Rose signalled for Carlisle and Esme to go next, and she was the last one out of the garage.

Our long procession of vehicles raced towards the highway, and Edwards car fishtailed as he left the driveway, and mine followed suit. We left the one-landed road and ended up on a four lane freeway.

" When we reach the next exit, the race is on!" Edward informed us. " I don't see any police or heavy traffic throughout our trip so we should be good to go" Alice added.

A road sign indicated a half mile till the next exit, and I pushed my car to go a little faster. I turned the headlights off and crept up right beside Edward, and Emmett pulled right in behind me. My car snarled, waiting to be let free from the restricted speed limit.

My foot hit the floor and my tires squealed when we reached the starting line. To my horror, Emmett shot right past me like a bullet, and was even more surprised when he rocketed right past Edward too. I shifted gears and surged forward, and Alice stuck to my bumper like glue, each tiny movement my car made, hers mimicked.

It was now Edward fighting for the lead with Emmett as they pulled away from our group. I shifted into fourth and tried to shake Alice off but she stuck with every move. Rosalie seemed to be doing the same thing as Alice except she was following closely on Jasper. When Jasper and Rose caught up to us we were neck and neck.

"Now Alice!" Rose shouted through the radio, and I had no idea what she had meant. But obviously Alice knew exactly what she was saying because both Rose and Alice swerved into the next lane and catapulted right past Jasper and myself.

" Dammit" I cured and wretched the shifter into fifth and watched the speedometer inch towards the two hundred mark.

" Bella, we need to draft, I'm going to get right in behind you like Alice was… it will make us go faster and we will catch up to them." Jasper instructed me calmly, and pulled in where Alice had been. I noticed a difference right away I did seem to be going a little faster now and then I again switched to the last gear and we were closing the distance between Alice and Rose. Then out of nowhere Carlisle's Mercedes joined our train and again, we seemed to move quicker.

When we finally caught up to Alice, she was weaving in and out of lanes trying to find an opening to sneak past Rose, who continued to block her attempts.

" You guys get lost or what?" Emmett taunted, and I could hear the motorbike rumble in the background.

"Yea Emmett and I are halfway there, did you guys give up?" Edward joined in.

" Ha, Ha, very funny boys!" Alice spat, and Emmett's booming laugh cut her off. I made a risky move, cranked the wheel, and flew across three lanes. My pursuers followed my lead and we slingshot past Rose, and Alice tagging along at the end. I could feel Rosalie's furious gaze burning through my mirror and I could hear her car whine in protest as she tried to push it to its limits.

" See you later Rose!" Jasper and I said together.

Within two minuets our fleet of blistering fast cars broke. Carlisle started to fall behind once again, and the three of us continued along. When I looked at the speedometer again it said that I was going two hundred and forty mile per hour and the needle was pointing at the numbers on the far right of the indicator.

Two more exits flew by in a blur, and road signed started to appear at the side of the road to indicate the up coming Canadian boarder. But just as we reached the top of a hill we spotted them. Emmett and Edward seemed to be neck and neck yet not one of them fighting for the first place position as our pack had been.

I could feel the taunting smile spread across my face. This was it, they were not going to shake us off so easily this time, and I slammed my foot hard into the pedal pressing it all the way to the floor. Our cars barrelled down the steep hill and was stunned when the speedometer met the far right and a true reading of how fast I was going didn't register. Jasper flew into the lane on the left of me, while Alice flew to my right, and was surprised that they seemed to be going even faster than I was.

Just then drops of water spattered across my windshield, and the wipers turned on automatically. I nearly lost control when the first flash of light engulfed the entire sky, followed by the most vicious round of thunder I have ever heard. I watched out my side windows as the three of us continued to inch closer to the leaders, and it looked like a huge wall of water between us, and I could only imagine what it would look like from behind or in front of us.

" The boarder is about a mile and a half away everyone" Edward exclaimed. " Bella, do you want to just make the race to the boarder and back, it might be smarter if we didn't cross into Canada" he cautioned.

"Yea that's probably a good idea… Everyone, we will turn off at the exit before the boarder, and we will turn around and the first one in the garage… is the winner" I revised.

When the next exit came into view, Alice Jasper and I were right behind Edward and Emmett. Not meeting the ramp speed of twenty miles per hour, we flew around the bend at almost one hundred mph. I put my e-brake on and drifted smoothly through the corner and was able to match Edward. Emmett fell behind in the corner and I used that to my advantage, when we got back on the next ramp to head back home I floored it, again putting the emergency break on and cranked the wheel to make the turn.

Another wave of lightening and thunder struck, and the whole highway brightened like day, and the resounding thunder shook the entire frame of my car. The water was pooling across my window and it was starting to be difficult to see out of them, even with the wipers working over time. And I wondered how Emmett was making out driving in this. I put that aside and laughed.

"Hey Emmett, how you liking this weather!" I breathed into the radio. I heard him hiss back and almost went into hysterics.

The thunder storm was relentless, so much for a good trip Alice. The sky was turned red as the storm brewed overhead, and lightening streaked across the vast openness. I was in the lead now, but not by far, Alice and Edward trying to find an opening to pass by. This is exactly what I had guess, the top three cars; my Ferrari, Edwards Vanquish, and Alice's Porsche. It was going to be a 'death race' to the finish, I was sure of it now, we all wanted to win to badly.

The sound of the tires sloshing through the downpour filled the car, broken occasionally by my engine revving higher. Steering with one hand, and with out watching the road I leaned over to the passenger seat to take out a bunch of CD's I had stashed in the glove box. I sifted through selection, and popped in the CD that Phil had given to me so long ago. I couldn't remember the lyrics, that part was lost with my human memory, but I did remember that Edward had had this is exact same disc sitting in his Volvo.

"Stupid shinny Volvo owner" I thought to myself and laughed again at my revelations.

We began to near Forks again, and I felt the surge of adrenaline flow through my system. So long as I kept Edward and Alice from passing me, the race was mine to lose. The overhanging road sign indicated that the turn off for Forks was in two miles.

The rain finally stopped, the low oppressing clouds still hung over, and it gave of a claustrophobic feeling to it. In the rear view mirror I could still see the flash of lightening, and could feel the low rumbles of the thunder that stretched this far from the storm.

Half a mile now, but Edward and Alice were really pressing for the lead, every time I glanced out my mirrors there they were. " Warning, vehicles maybe closer than they appear" great, that meant that they were literally right on my bumper!

When the exit came into view, I didn't head into the lane right away. I let Alice and Edward head towards the exit and I continued to floor it.

" Where you going Bella, your going to miss the exit!" Edward warned me. But I ignored him, waiting till the last second I cranked the wheel and flew across the two lanes and tried to cut them off, and nearly smacking right into the protective barrier, missing it by a few inches.

Alice, Edward and I were neck and neck flying down the two laned highway leading back into Forks. The nose of our cars fighting back and forth each one of us taking turned in the lead.

" So long suckers!" Emmett boomed, and out of the corner of my eye I seen him squeezing the bike in between Alice and Edward. I was mortified when he passed all of us, and stole the lead. I looked out my window and watch the same horrified expression spread across Alice's face, who was to the right of me, and Edwards' who was to the left.

Our engines whined in protest when we slammed our feet to the gas pedal, but it was no use, he was already turning onto into the driveway. Alice and I squeezed through the narrow opening forcing Edward to come in behind us, and Jasper snuck in behind him.

I parked my car, turned the key and my engine sighed in relief and steam started to roll out from under the hood. I was surprised when Emmett was there to greet me when I stepped out.

" So, can I start collecting on that bet now, or should I give you some space before I start in on comments?" he boasted. I growled at him, and he took a few steps back, but still work a mock grin across his face. " Oh yea, Rose wants our yacht to be named 'Monkey Man'" his face turned into a grimace and stuck out his tongue in disgust, but was willing to accept it in order to get his prize.

Alice was storming over to Jasper who had just parked his new vehicle, and she looked about as pleased as me. This was the most unlikely ending. No one expect Emmett to win, not on the Ducati, anyway.

" Sometimes you have to drive your car more when you first get it, before it starts performing at its greatest" I over heard Jasper explaining to Alice. "We still beat Rose, so we at least get something for our efforts" he continued.

They must have noticed the puzzled look on my face as they walked by because Jasper and Alice chuckled together then answered my expression.

" Rose now has to pay for our honey moon we had been planning to go to Australia" Jasper sighed.

Edward had parked his car and was just stepping into the garage when Carlisle pulled up with Rose surprisingly in the rear.

" So, did you have fun?" I questioned Edward, when he finally made his way over to me through the crowded garage. His eyes locked on mine for a minuet, his face tense, his eyes burned with curiosity, then smoothed to amusement.

"How did you and Alice manage to beat me?" he asked in a between his burst of laughter. " I mean, I was completely taken aback when Emmett beat us, but, you have no experience driving and you pulled off some pretty crazy moves out there. I'm impressed" he finished with a wry smile.

I couldn't really answer, I didn't know how I had beaten him, how I had beaten almost everyone, apart from Emmett. Sure I had a good car, but I must have some skill, or maybe it just confidence that drove me to perform? Whatever the case, it was over now, our last family event here in Forks. We would soon be packing, and figuring out where we were going to head to next. I still hadn't said my goodbyes to Charlie, or Renne. I didn't know if I could say goodbye to my mom forever. It might be easier if someone else broke the news to her.

That's when it hit me. "Esme" I called over the humming of the conversations everyone was having.

" Yes, Bella" she too speaking a bit loudly over the chatter.

I lead Esme, Edward and Carlisle into the house, and it seemed like no one else even noticed our sudden absence.

"Esme, I think you should call Renne for me" I said with my eyes focused on the floor instead of their faces. " It will be much easier for her to accept that I'm never going to see her again, if we don't have to say a goodbye" I continued. " Tell her that Edward and I took off together, that no one knows where we went. Tell her anything, I know she will listen to you, you two got along so well together" I finished.

Esme gently wrapped her arms around my shoulder to comfort me. She knew this wasn't easy, no matter how long I had know that one day this would happen, that I would have to say goodbye to everyone forever.

She took out a small silver phone from her purse, dialled the number than put it on speaker so that I could hear my mothers voice on last time.


	7. Goodbyes

**A/N: OK I am sorry I took so long to post, I have been really busy with auditions relating to my acting career. This chaper is a little on the shorter side, but, I needed to make it like that. Halfway through the story switches to Jaspers POV, but will at some point in the next chapter switch back to Bella's POV. I would like to get up to 25 reviews for this story so far, so everyone, please review! I will start working on the next chapter but wont post until the reviews are close enough to my goal of 25! Enjoy!**

Goodbyes

It had to be the hardest thing I have ever had to live through, listen to my mothers frantic pleas with Esme to try to find us. It was heartbreaking to hear my mothers cry and sob into the receiver, and Edward tried to comfort me with his hand squeezing mine, but it was no use.

"We will try to keep in touch, I'm so sorry Renee" Esme said with finality and hit the end button. Esme rubbed her hand on my knee and I curled up into Edwards chest and he rocked soothingly back and forth.

It wasn't long until the rest of our family filed in from the garage, Emmett still being boastful and was laughing until he saw my face.

" Hey little sis, what's wrong? I know your upset about losing, but.." Edward's furious look stopped him from continuing.

" I'm so sorry Bella" Alice exclaimed and kissed me on the forehead.

" Umm, will someone please tell us what is going on" Emmett asked aggravated.

" Its obvious isn't it" Rose smacked him across the back of his head. " She just said her goodbyes to Renee".

"I'm… sorry Bella" he stuttered. " Don't be" I whispered. "I knew I would have to do it sometime" I kissed Edwards chin and got up from the couch and headed for the kitchen.

When Edward followed I took the cell phone from his pocket and dialled the number to the next person I needed to speak to.

" Chief Swan" my father answered in his police manor.

" Hey dad, its Bella… can you come over here after work?" I asked trying to keep my voice from breaking, but I couldn't fool Charlie.

" What's wrong?" he asked alarmed.

" I will tell you everything when you get here, see you at six" and I hung up before I broke down.

I took a deep breath, then turned to Edward.

" Well we might as well go to the cottage, start cleaning it up and packing, then we will come back to get our room here done too" I said in a defeated tone. I knew there would be no sense in arguing to stay for any little longer, so I just accepted it the best I could and tried not to worry to much.

Renesmee was still sleeping when Edward and I got back to the cottage, Jacob sitting dutifully beside her bed watching over her. I would wait to tell Jake and Charlie our plans later that evening. I didn't know how long I could hold it together if I kept having to repeat the story over and over, so Edward and I left him alone and closed the door.

We started with our room. I picked up all the glass from the full length mirror that had been shattered and put it into a large garbage bag. Then continued onto stripping off the sheets on the mangled bed. Once I was done with that Edward took the mattress and the box spring off the frame and leaned them against the wall while he manoeuvred the piece through the door frame and put them at the side of the house along with what was left of Nessie's old crib.

I tried to put the pieces of the wall back in place and failed, so I just left it. It would have to be fixed later. "Later" I laughed to myself, later as in, whenever we moved back to Forks. When would we be so luck to move back? Thirty years? Forty? Even in Forty years from now there would be people here who would remember us. So maybe in Seventy years or so when we could move back.

It was funny really, how I hated it here in Forks. I hated the rain and how the sun never seemed willing enough to penetrate through the low oppressing cloud cover. But now, it seemed like I could live here for eternity, I loved it here. I love the green, the forest, the mountains, our meadow, the stars…Heck I even started to love how the cool mist in the morning clung to your skin. I would miss the smells too. Forks would always be my home. And I hoped that we would soon be able to move back.

Edward returned and he helped me pack some of our clothes in large duffel bags, and the rest went in boxes to be stored until we returned. Although I was positive that Alice would refuse to let us wear that after we returned back no matter what length of time had passed. I so made sure to bring my favourites.

Our next project was our sitting room, it was even worse off then our bedroom had been so we started to re-organise that room too. First was to put the bookshelf that had toppled over back upright. Then put the endless amount of books that were strewn across the floor back on the shelves. I went outside to shake out the Persian rug and the bits of glass flew everywhere, pinging off trees and landing in the long grasses. When it was fully de-glassed, I rolled it up and stuck it in the corner. I swept and Edward removed the broken coffee table.

Next we took the paintings off the wall and ran them back to the house to be stored away properly. And when we returned Nessie had woken up and was playing with some of her toys, Jake was passed out on the floor next to her. Edward and I laughed and his snores cut off and he jolted to his feet.

"Wh..aat" he said groggily. " Jake, go home and get some sleep, we can take care of her now" I instructed. " But be back for six, we need to talk".

" I don't like the sounds of that he protested but moved past us through the hall and darted out the door.

Renesmee smiled up at us and had her arms stretched out reaching for us. Edward beat me to hear and pulled her up into his arms and she clung onto his neck. " How is my sweet angel, did you have fun with Jake while we were gone?" he cooed.

" Mhmm" she responded and just then her stomach growled, she looked down and giggled. " I'm hungry".

" Well lets go get you some breakfast then" Edward said smiling, then handed her to me.

" Bella, love, take Nessie, I am going to get our bags" he said as I took her out of his arms.

I made Nessie scrambled eggs for breakfast and then left her in the care of Rosalie while Edward and I finished packing our room.

It was long and tedious, the entire family took turns taking a break from packing and watched over Nessie for us. When Edward packed away the last of his CD's in a box to take with us, the doorbell rang.

"That must be Jake" I stated and flew down the stairs to give him a brief update before Charlie came over.

"Well, I'm just going to have to come with you" Jake said flatly after I had explained that we were leaving, and why we were doing so. It wasn't unexpected, we all knew he would never let us leave with Renesmee, for us to take his imprint.

" But what of your pack Jake, you have to think of them" I said quietly, I wasn't trying to convince him to stay, but I was concerned.

" Well, its really up to them, I wont tell them to stay, and I wont ask them to come with me. They can choose for themselves. Knowing Leah, she will come with me without any hesitation, she's just so damn stubborn! Seth, well, I know you what you think he will say" Jake retorted.

I did know, Seth would want to come too, of course we would send them all back to Forks to visit their families but still, they shouldn't have to be subject to our strange lifestyle and the concequences.

Not long after we let Jake in on what was going on Charlie's police cruiser pulled up the driveway and parked in front of the house. I went and opened the door to greet him and I could see the panic in his face when he saw all the boxes strewn everywhere.

-------

It took a full hour to explain everything to Charlie. He didn't really say much, but his expression spoke for him. He was upset, deeply, deeply upset. When Edward had finally asked him to say something, a tear was building up in his eye.

" I will be back later" was all he said as he got up off the couch, kissed Nessie on the head and dashed out to the cruiser.

"Maybe we should send Jasper down to his house, to talk to him and calm him down" I suggested to Edward who seemed to agree.

" I will go get him and send him down" and with that he took off upstairs.

Alice, Jasper and Edward were standing next to me almost instantly. Edward sat back down with me and pulled me in closer to him.

"Hey, where are we moving to anyway?" I asked confused, after everything that had happened I never thought to even ask where we were headed to.

" Were moving to Newfoundland, in Canada, they have cloud coverage on average of two hundred and fifty-five days of the year." Alice answered.

" Well I better get going, I bet Charlie is losing it" Jasper stated, he kissed Alice quickly on the lips and took off out the front door.

I was so relieved that Jasper was willing to help. I could only imagine what my dad was going through, it would be nice for him to have some comfort, some relief from the bad news.

The house was all packed up, and Alice had said that we would leave in a few days. Rensmee continued to play on the floor with Jacob and I took refuge in Edwards arms, as we all awaited Jaspers returned.

Jasper's POV

Take the car, or run? I thought to myself. Running would be faster no doubt. But… what the heck, might as well make use of my new "toy". I smiled to myself as I hopped into the drivers seat to my new Audi spider.

I could feel the burning thirst raging in my throat, but I figured I would only be there for what? An hour max, Charlie needed me now, I would just have to hunt with my family when I got back.

I flew down the road that lead to Forks and was parked outside of Charlie's house not two minuets after I left the house. His cruiser was in the driveway so I parked on the road. But I noticed that there was another car there too. It was one I didn't recognise so I parked at the other side of the road and walked up to the door.

" You better start telling me what exactly is going on here Charlie, I swear I will…" the voice cut off, it sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn't put a face to the voice.

I opened the door slowly and stepped in. The argument was coming from the kitchen. And when I entered the doorframe, Charlie's fist was just about to slam down on the table, and that's when it happened.

I gasped and tried to lead across the room before his hand fell onto a large steak knife that was laying there, but I was too late. Charlie's hand crashed through the table slicing his hand open when he did so.

The moment I smelled his blood pulsating out of the open wound the monster that was caged inside me screamed out. The fire burned hotter in my throat and the venom pooled in my mouth.

It happened so fast, but now the monster inside me was rejoicing as the agony started to fade away while the blood flowed down my throat easing the inferno. My head snapped up when I heard Renee's terrified screams. Her face was almost as white as mine and then she stood, too shocked to move.

My ears picked up the rapid hammering of her heart as it thudded loudly in her chest. The veins in her neck seemed to be calling me, and I imagined the taste, the monster screamed at me again, and I leapt across the table unable to stop myself. I snapped her neck in one quick movement and drained her completely.

When I was done I straightened up and looked around me. What I saw was like something from a horror movie, there was blood everywhere spattered all around the room, two lifeless bodies lay drained of blood on the floor.

" What have I done!"


	8. Nightmare

**A/N: So umm, after re-reading what I had written for this chapter I realised it needed a lot of work, Sorry, I shouldnt have posted this until I was happy with it. To all of those that have already read this chapter, I would like you to read it again. At least the first little bit in Jaspers perspective the rest didnt change much. **Ok so I know a lot of you were not please after what happened in the last chapter, but things will sort themselves out. Also I would like to announce that my one-shot Search Party, is going to be turning into a story called " The Collective Memories of Sam Uley" so look for that within the next day or so. Please Review this chapter. Thanks to all those that have been reading, and to all those who have this story on their fav list or alerts. A special thanks to Shirley for their review, its always a great pleasure to hear that people love your writing and story! Thanks all, new chapter on its way in a few days, keep a look out!

Decisions

Jaspers POV

I collapsed to my knees at the sight before cant be happening! No, no no no no! What have I done? I closed my eyes, squinting them tightly shut, and opened them hoping everything was just going to be a horrible nightmare of some kind. I flinched at what I saw before me. What the hell was I going to do? But no, I couldnt have done it, Alice is going to laugh at me any second for day dreaming I know it. I took comfort in that, but when the relief didnt come I really started paniking, if i was daydreaming then I would have been able to snap out of this horror. The only other logical answer was that I was a monster, I killed some of my own family. My head swam with everything that had just occurred. How can I go back to my family, how could I confess to them what I had just done? But I had already gone through all of the alternatives.

It took another minute for me to fully comprehend what I had just done, but it was then that it occurred to me. Alice has probably seen what just happened. They would all soon be here. Without a second thought I darted from the room and crashed through the door to get out of there. There would be nothing for me to do now then to run. To get as far away from here as possible, but how was I suppose to hurt Alice like that, but running away like some... coward?

But by the time I had gotten to my car, Alice's and Carlisle's car came flying around the corner and screeched to a halt in front of me. I wasn't surprised that Bella was the first at me as she tackled me to the ground. I didn't try to stop her, I felt bad enough, it might be better for her to get her emotions out.

" You... bas...tard..."she screamed through her teeth as her fists found every part of my body. " I...should...kill..you.." I didn't see the need to struggle, I deserved every blow that she could throw at me.

Carlisle and Alice tore her off me but I didn't move. I lay there staring at their face and the one that hurt the most was Alice's. She was so disappointed it rolled off her in waves and it hurt more than physical blow could. Alice shook her head and raced into the house and everyone else followed.

After a moment, I too walked slowly back through the front door and witnessed Bella hunched over her mothers and fathers lifeless, drained bodies. "Its not a nightmare then" I reasoned with myself as I heard Bella's howls of pain fill the house. Of course she had to say goodbye to them, but never like this. They didn't deserve what I did to them, and neither did Bella.

" Jasper?" Alice's shaking voice called to me. " What happened?" she asked tentatively.

" Im.. sorry" I stuttered "More than you could ever know. But It all happened so fast, Charlie was arguing with Renee… he slammed his fist down on the table, there was a knife there. I tried to stop him, but I was too late, the knife sliced his hand open, I smelt the blood and before I knew it, they were dead" I bowed my head in shame.

Alice's arm wrapped around my waist and held herself closer to me, trying to be comforting, but it was impossible. The emotions coming off everyone was forcing me into a deep depression. I kissed her lightly on top of her head to try to convince her I was fine, to no prevail, there was no fooling her.

"Bella…?" Edward tried to coax her out of the hysteria. " Bella, we need to leave" she still didn't move, she just lay beside her mother and father weeping.

I stood by as Carlisle and Edward pulled her to her feet and dragged her away from her parents. Alice took my by the hand to make me follow her outside. Emmett and Rosalie were waiting on the lawn with two tanks of gas sitting at their feet.

" Burn it" was all Alice said as she passed them. Emmett nodded, picked up the gas tank and went to douse the house in gasoline. Something in the house sparked and smoke started to roll out of the upstairs windows. Emmett and Rosalie lit another section of the house, I was guessing it was the living room. Both of them came barrelling out of the door to escape the flames. It didn't take long before the entire house was engulfed and we needed to leave.

"I'll meet you guys at the house" I insisted there was no need to tell Alice that I needed to, no, I wanted to be alone. Alice gave me a questioning look before getting into her Porsche and turning back up the road. Edward was shuffling Bella into the back seat of Carlisle Mercedes, and shoved in beside her holding her to himself. Carlisle was not please with me, but his eyes sparkled with forgiveness. It was way more than I deserved.

Emmett and Rose hopped into her convertible and they drove off followed closely by Carlisle. I watched the house burn for a minute longer, maybe there was still a glimmer of hope that this was just a product of my boredom, that my mind was playing some sick joke on me. Maybe? No, it wasnt, I felt the heat from the fire on my skin, and the burn was enough to tell me that there was no way this was a figment of my imagination. Some product of years of touture I had to endure, and the tourture I inflicted on other poor helpless humans. I heard the sirens, I took a sharp intake of breath and I too fled the murder scene. While I was driving away, I caught a glimpse of eyes glowing in the dark woods. The wolves... that was going to cause a problem, one that I doubt anyone had thought of yet.

I let out a sigh and raced off towards my waiting family.

**Bella's POV**

" I wish you would stop worrying, everything is going to be fine" Edwards velvet voice whispered into my ear. He was just as worried about Charlie as me, but he knew that of all people, it was Jasper who had the best chance of calming him down. Thanks to his natural ability to effect the emotions around him. So for the moment I was comforted, know that Charlie would find some relief from this terrible situation.

I figured Nessie would be getting hungry by now, so I went to the kitchen to make one of her favourites, lasagna. Alice came in to help, although she wasn't much help, her never really needing to cook for anyone. She mainly watched and pasted me the things that I needed.

"Alice, can you hand me that can opener?" I asked her and held out my hand. Before it reached my hand I heard the smash as it hit the marble floor. I turned alarmed towards Alice who's face was blank, her arm outstretched, and completely frozen.

" No!" she finally screamed as she snapped out of her vision.

"What is it Alice!" just then Edward was right behind me, closely followed by Carlisle and Esme who were with him in the living room.

" Jasper…" she gasped. It didn't take me long to make the connection and I darted for the door. Everyone else followed suit.

" Rose, get down here and watch Nessie please!" I shouted before slamming the door.

Carlisle and Esme jumped into the front seats of the Mercedes, and Edward and I got in the back. Alice got in her Porsche and we raced into town to try to save my father.

Jasper's car was parked at the side of the street by his house, and there was a strange unfamiliar car also parked out front. And Jasper came bolting out of the front door just as we were pulling up, and there was blood on his shirt.

I was out of the car before it was fully stopped and I hurled myself at him. You monster I thought to myself.

" You... bas..tard.."I spat through my teeth as my fists pounded into him."I... should...kill...you" I am not sure how long they let me go on for. But all to soon two pairs of arms grasped me and pulled me away. I realised I needed to get to him, to get to my father.

I was horrified by what I saw before me, and I knew I was about to snap. There was blood everywhere, and then I saw the lifeless body of not only my father, but my mother as well. I collapsed to my knees and dragged my fathers body closer to my mother and I. I sat there and sobbed for another unknown amount of time, holding my parents close to me as I grieved. I would miss them terribly.

I remembered back to my birthday so many years ago, when I had gotten a simple paper cut, and Jasper nearly took my life. I shouldn't blame him, as much as I wanted to. We should have known better than to send him here alone. When we knew he wasn't as strong as us.

I thought I heard someone call my name, but I wasn't sure. I continued to lay by their sides looking into their faces, at peace. Then I heard it again, this time I was sure it was Edward who was calling me, saying something about us having to leave. But why? I didn't care, I was going to stay here with them.

I closed my eyes and laid my head on the floor, and then Edward picked me up. I was too out of it to really know what was going on, the next thing I knew I was being towed out of the house and shoved into the back seat of the dark Mercedes.

" What… happ.. Happened" I sobbed into Edwards shoulder once he closed the door.

"I'm sure Jasper wants to explain when we get back to the house love" Edward said in a soothing calm voice and pulled me in closer to him.

" Who is watching Nessie, I thought I saw Rosalie here." I asked concerned.

" Jake came back, so Rosalie ask him to stay with her" he explained.

"Oh" was the last thing I could coax out of myself to say, and then I heard the sirens off in the distance, and I could feel the car purr beneath me then sail fluidly overtop the cement road.


	9. Authors Note

Hi everyone, ugg ok pleaseee dont kill me, its been like what? A month since i update? I am terribly terribly sorry! I got caught up with two other stories, and because I had no clue where i was going with this I sorta neglected it and left it, but I have been working on it with my editor and trying to make it work, so I promise you that you will get a double post by saturday! If any of you could please message me or leave a review of where you guys ultimately want to see this story go, or things that you think you want to see, please dont hesitate to tell me! OK well I guess thats all for now, oh, and please check out my new story, Big Brother: The Cullen Season been getting some great reviews on it, so i think all of you will like it..... Oh, also, three of my stories have been nominated for Lion and Lamb Awards.... Beyond the Horizon is nominated for best W.I.P (work in progress) along with being nominated for best Vampire Bella, my story Search Party is nominated for best One-Shot, and Big Brother: The Cullen Season has been nominated for best Cross-Over. So please visit lionandlambawards(dot)webs(dot)com to vote for my stories! Well i am off, Cheers!


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